Kidnappers blindfolded me for 10 days –Bauchi lawmaker

A member of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Mr. Yusuf Nuhu, has said for the 10 days he was in the custody of his captors, they blindfolded him and kept him in a bush.

Nuhu, representing Jema constituency under All Progressives Congress, described his experience in the hands of his abductors as “terrible”.

The lawmaker was kidnapped on March 3, and was rescued after a gun battle between the gunmen and the police. The shootout however was not without a casualty as a 10-year-old girl who was caught in the crossfire, later died.

Speaking with newsmen on Sunday, Nuhu said, “It was a terrible experience because I have never found myself in such a situation; I was with them for 10 days in a bush. I was given some kind of food, but I only ate biscuits in order not to have stomach upset.

“I cannot identify any of them because my face was covered throughout the 10 days I spent with them and I was not able to communicate with my family members. They don’t discuss anything in my presence, they always move far away from me while communicating with themselves.”

The lawmaker described his rescue as miraculous because no ransom was paid.

The Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Ladan, said the lawmaker was rescued with the support of local vigilante group.

The commissioner said the suspects, who abandoned their operational vehicle, a Volkswagen Golf, with Registration number, MKT 553 AA, escaped into bus with bullet wounds.

He said that in the confusion that followed the gunfight, the lawmaker escaped from his abductors and hid in the bush before he was rescued.